Savannah Spring Book

[TheMusicMan]

Ladies and gentleman, it's that time again! Yep, the Spring '05 Book drops tomorrow (for those of us not in radio, anyway), so let's get straight to the predicting, slamming, armchair programming, and all of that other good stuff we're so awesome at.

|| One of the wars that it will be interesting to watch is the Rock/AC/Hybrid battle. The Drive has the potential to make things interesting by siphoning away small amounts of shares from Q, The River, Wave (oh yeah, they don't have any shares to speak of) and I-95, which it shares certain amounts of music with, especially now that it's been around for about 9 months. Also, it has an advantage because it plays mostly familiar hits (something Q and Wave don't do as well). I think we'll see GZO rise into the mid-1's, and possibly prevent a larger rebound by RHQ.

|| As for the CHR war - wait a minute, did I just call that a war? Kiss will stabilize and Z will rise slightly to about a 2. Not to imply that they've improved any - there is no way in hell they can do as bad as they did this past book. Z is a trainwreck, plain and simple, except I'd imagine the latter would be a little easier on the ears. Saturday afternoon, I heard Ja Rule "Livin' It Up" into 4 Non Blondes "What's Up" into a stopset, coming out of which I heard Sheryl Crow "Strong Enough". That's a tight, well-focused CHR for ya! NOT. They lost their best jock (Cage) and their programmer, and Kiss is so much better that they will kick Z's ass. If the book is atrocious again (which wouldn't surprise me), I think a flip is in order.

|| The Country situation is an interesting one. Kix has lost their entire airstaff over the course of a year and a half or so, and their morning show is on Gator now. But even with a great signal and a big format, 106.9 has done next to nothing. This is going to be a big book for them. Either Gator will rise, or flip in the near future.

And now, my 12+ predictions...

WEAS
WQBT
WLVH
WJCL
WSOK
WYKZ
WIXV
WAEV
WFXH
WRHQ
WBMQ
WGCO
WLOW
WGZR
WTKS
WGZO
WZAT
WTYB
WJLG
WSSJ

Stations to watch || Kix 96, Gator 106.9, 103.1 The Drive, Z102

 

[russ973]

Why don't you post what you think the 12+ ratings will be. It's more interesting that way. There's no rule against that. You just can't post the Arbitron numbers.

> Ladies and gentleman, it's that time again! Yep, the Spring
> '05 Book drops tomorrow (for those of us not in radio,
> anyway), so let's get straight to the predicting, slamming,
> armchair programming, and all of that other good stuff we're
> so awesome at.
>
> || One of the wars that it will be interesting to watch is
> the Rock/AC/Hybrid battle. The Drive has the potential to
> make things interesting by siphoning away small amounts of
> shares from Q, The River, Wave (oh yeah, they don't have any
> shares to speak of) and I-95, which it shares certain
> amounts of music with, especially now that it's been around
> for about 9 months. Also, it has an advantage because it
> plays mostly familiar hits (something Q and Wave don't do as
> well). I think we'll see GZO rise into the mid-1's, and
> possibly prevent a larger rebound by RHQ.
>
> || As for the CHR war - wait a minute, did I just call that
> a war? Kiss will stabilize and Z will rise slightly to about
> a 2. Not to imply that they've improved any - there is no
> way in hell they can do as bad as they did this past book. Z
> is a trainwreck, plain and simple, except I'd imagine the
> latter would be a little easier on the ears. Saturday
> afternoon, I heard Ja Rule "Livin' It Up" into 4 Non Blondes
> "What's Up" into a stopset, coming out of which I heard
> Sheryl Crow "Strong Enough". That's a tight, well-focused
> CHR for ya! NOT. They lost their best jock (Cage) and their
> programmer, and Kiss is so much better that they will kick
> Z's ass. If the book is atrocious again (which wouldn't
> surprise me), I think a flip is in order.
>
> || The Country situation is an interesting one. Kix has lost
> their entire airstaff over the course of a year and a half
> or so, and their morning show is on Gator now. But even with
> a great signal and a big format, 106.9 has done next to
> nothing. This is going to be a big book for them. Either
> Gator will rise, or flip in the near future.
>
> And now, my 12+ predictions...
>
> WEAS
> WQBT
> WLVH
> WJCL
> WSOK
> WYKZ
> WIXV
> WAEV
> WFXH
> WRHQ
> WBMQ
> WGCO
> WLOW
> WGZR
> WTKS
> WGZO
> WZAT
> WTYB
> WJLG
> WSSJ
>
> Stations to watch || Kix 96, Gator 106.9, 103.1 The Drive,
> Z102
>
<P ID="signature">______________
Russ
APD/Middays
97-3 KISS FM (WAEV)
Savannah, GA</P>

 

[TheMusicMan]

> Why don't you post what you think the 12+ ratings will be.
> It's more interesting that way. There's no rule against
> that. You just can't post the Arbitron numbers.

Why not...

> WEAS - 10.5
> WQBT - 8.7
> WLVH - 7.3
> WJCL - 6.5
> WSOK - 6.5
> WYKZ - 5.5
> WIXV - 5.1
> WAEV - 4.5
> WFXH - 4.3
> WRHQ - 4.1
> WGCO - 3.4
> WBMQ - 3.1
> WLOW - 3.1
> WGZR - 2.5
> WTKS - 2.5
> WGZO - 1.9
> WZAT - 1.9
> WTYB - 1.7
> WJLG - 1.3
> WSSJ - 0.9

FilmCritic, Russ, FMFeq, SaltyDog, radionut, all of y'all....predictions people!! We have got to wake this board up somehow.

 

[SquiggyFM]

> > WAEV - 4.5...keeps 'em alive (they'll know what I mean)

 

[FilmCritic3000]

> > Why don't you post what you think the 12+ ratings will be.
>
> > It's more interesting that way. There's no rule against
> > that. You just can't post the Arbitron numbers.
>
> Why not...
>
> > WEAS - 10.5
> > WQBT - 8.7
> > WLVH - 7.3
> > WJCL - 6.5
> > WSOK - 6.5
> > WYKZ - 5.5
> > WIXV - 5.1
> > WAEV - 4.5
> > WFXH - 4.3
> > WRHQ - 4.1
> > WGCO - 3.4
> > WBMQ - 3.1
> > WLOW - 3.1
> > WGZR - 2.5
> > WTKS - 2.5
> > WGZO - 1.9
> > WZAT - 1.9
> > WTYB - 1.7
> > WJLG - 1.3
> > WSSJ - 0.9
>
> FilmCritic, Russ, FMFeq, SaltyDog, radionut, all of
> y'all....predictions people!! We have got to wake this board
> up somehow.
>

I agree! We need to liven this board up somehow! I wonder where Guru wandered off to. I miss reading his musings.

In any case, I think that you're being a bit gracious with WZAT, MusicMan. I'd like to see them tank even further ( sort of like limbo..how *low* in the Arbs can you go?) but I think they'll garner a 1.5 or so. The Drive's performance is what I'm interested in. I think that they just might siphon a sampling from Q, Wave, The River, and even WLOW. I'm not talking huge amounts, just a slice perhaps.

Anyone think WTYB's going to make any inroads? I highly doubt it, at least in one book. I know WGCO's listeners are very devoted and I just don't see them jumping ship. I've heard the oldies format is waning nationally but I'm not sure about that here.

And backtracking a bit...ah WZAT...why are you still breathing? Get off the ropes and let the ref count you out already! Any ideas out there, folks, as to what exactly they should flip this dead duck to? I still cannot fathom why the suits at Cumulus think there's a chance in hell that they can compete with the giant that is 97-3 KISS FM. Wow...it looks like Sam Diamond (formerly of Triad) is working at Z102..I didn't know that. But back to the matter at hand - the sad state of affairs currently residing at 102.1 on the FM dial. Maybe they should just change to "Swirl 102 - No Music, Just Money Going Down The Drain" and then play the sound of a toilet flushing 24/7.

The KIX/Gator war is interesting in that I want to see if Mike and Laura's fan base traveled down the dial with them.

The River...hmmm...The Drive might make a slight quake there. Time will tell.

WRHQ - see what I said about The River.

The two Urban stations will continue their dominance.

Any other thoughts? Did I miss anything?

 

[russ973]

> > > WAEV - 4.5...keeps 'em alive (they'll know what I mean)
>

haha...

I wonder about the Drive too... but did they do any real marketing to get the word out?

Gator hit with billboards toward the end of the book, but our data shows it helped some, but not much. Kix should still dominate them. We'll see.

Thanks for the kind words about KISS. Funny thing about Z is that in the Fall book they were tighter and sounded better than they did in the Spring. If you took numbers from this week, who know what they'd look like with all their jocks gone.

Hilton Head numbers have KISS up a bit. Brunswick we're about even. The Beat is up a good bit in Brunsiwck. WLVH is up a good bit in HH too from what I heard.<P ID="signature">______________
Russ
APD/Middays
97-3 KISS FM (WAEV)
Savannah, GA</P>

 

[Felton_Cider]

...the 12+ predictions...(and the actual list..)
>
> WEAS WEAS (correct)
> WQBT WLVH nice gain
> WLVH WSOK another big jump
> WJCL WQBT swapped a couple with sister LVH
> WSOK WRHQ Fall was a fluke,back where they belong
> WYKZ WJCL Big ouch,Cumulus takes it in the shorts
> WIXV WYKZ dinged
> WAEV WAEV (correct)
> WFXH WGCO tweaked up
> WRHQ WIXV Yipes...4th down book in-a-row
> WBMQ WFXH Fall was a fluke,back where they belong
> WGCO WLOW
> WLOW WBMQ
> WGZR WGZR (correct)
> WTKS WTKS (correct)
> WGZO WZAT
> WZAT WJLG
> WTYB WSSJ
> WJLG WTYB
> WSSJ
>
well you nailed 4 of 'em...
>

 

[livingfruitvirus]

WFXH-AM also made the book, albeit at the bottom.

 

[htsco]

I heard some Weird things Going on at WQBT Today first about 4pm The PD Bo Money stats there is a rumor going around in Savannah that this is the Beat's Last Week. then he mentions that the ratings Numbers are being looked at and a decision will be made next monday. Later at night I hear a Commercial(from Bo Money) Saying Starting August 22 the Beat Will be "Under Construction" from 6pm to 10pm He mentions you may hear Rap you may hear Country or you may hear Rock But the Beat is Changing. I know their last Book wasn't too good but I don't think it's time For a Flip yet. I DO think that they need to Tweak what they have though 1st thing Ditch Russ Parr and Bring in Star and Bucwild (last 5 Clear Channel Stations that did that had their books take off). 2nd Trash HeartBeats Bring in More Hard Core Rap music this time of the night. Stop trying to Copy E93. Go Back to a More Rap Format Like when they First Started in 2002 and the Ratings should improve.